Shudder in September: From Carrie to Superhost
By Carla Davis
Shudder is jam-packing September with more great originals and exclusives, along with some pretty sweet classics and newer films.
Let’s start with their Hispanic Heritage Month collection. For the month of September, Shudder will be featuring horror by Latinx creators in Mexico, Central and South America and the US. Highlighted films will include:
Belzebuth (Mexico), Deadtectives (US/Mexico), The Funeral Home (Argentina, ), Good Manners (Brazil), La Llorona (Guatemala), Luz: The Flower of Evil (Colombia), Luciferina (Argentina), The Nightshifter (Brazil), Perfect (US), Terrified (Argentina), Tigers Are Not Afraid (Mexico) and The Untamed (Mexico).
September 1:
Carrie – This is the original, classic 1976 version of Stephen King’s first novel. Sissy Spacek plays the bullied teen, who strikes back at her classmates after a prank goes wrong at the prom. Carrie also stars John Travolta, Piper Laurie (who gives a chilling performance as Carrie’s religious fanatic mom) and Nancy Allen.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Humans are being replaced with alien duplicates in this 1978 remake, which stars Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Veronica Cartwright.
Lifeforce – A mission to investigate the possibility of life on Halley’s Comet goes horribly awry when a strange alien spacecraft is encountered. This flick has mad horror cred; it was directed by the great Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and written by Dan O’Bannon (Alien).
Shudder just added one of my favorite films of all time!
The Haunting –I consider the original 1963 version of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House to be one of the best haunted house films ever made. It has very little in common with the Netflix series (which I also love), and is far, far better than the unfortunate1999 remake. The Haunting tells the story of a paranormal investigation taking place in the notorious Hill House.
Poltergeist – Steven and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams)live in a newly constructed home with their three children, Dana (Dominique Dunn), Robbie (Oliver Robins) and little Carol anne (Heather O’Rourke). When strange things start to happen in their home, Carol Anne seems to be at the center of the activity. If you haven’t seen this hair-raising, fun ride of a film, now is the time! After watching it, make the time to view Shudder’s Cursed Films episode about Poltergeist.
September 2:
Slasher: Flesh & Blood (Also available on Shudder UKI and ANZ)- This series continues, with new episodes available on Thursdays through September 16.
Superhost (Shudder Original/Exclusive, also available on Shudder CA, UKI and ANZ) – Teddy and Claire are travel vloggers who love to review “superhosts” for vacation homes. When their subscriber numbers start to drop, they decide to capitalize on their current very strange superhost. Bad idea! Superhost starts Osric Chau (Supernatural), Sara Canning (Nancy Drew), Gracie Gillam (Z Nation) and the iconic Barbara Crampton (Jackob’s Wife).
September 6:
Grave Encounters – This found footage horror film has a cult following now, 10 years after its debut at The Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, Grave Encounters is a paranormal investigative reality show that only lasted for five episodes. The sixth episode was to be filmed at an old psychiatric hospital, and we are now presented with the “recovered film footage” from that night.
Grave Encounters 2 – In this 2012 sequel, a group of friends break into the abandoned hospital to investigate, and find themselves in the same predicament as the original Grave Encounters crew
Resolution – When Michael receives an email from his drug addicted friend Chris, it includes a disturbing video. Aided by a map that was also included in the email, Michael makes a desperate attempt to save his friend.
September 7:
They Look Like People – After Wyatt starts getting strange phone calls telling him he must save himself from an upcoming demonic invasion, he begins to believe the people around him are possessed.
Jug Face – A teenage girl, pregnant with her brother’s child, learns that she is to be sacrificed to a creature who lives in a pit. The locals in her backwoods town worship the entity, and Ada must now attempt to escape.
Dark Waters – Elizabeth’s father has recently died, and she travels to a remote convent on an island to determine if she will continue her father’s donations to the place. The convent is a strange place, governed by an ancient, blind Mother Superior.